Dem Poll: Sen. Cochran Just Barely Leading Tea Partier McDaniel

A new poll of the runoff for the race for U.S. Senate in Mississippi finds Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) just barely leading challenger state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-MS).

The weighted findings of the poll, conducted by the Democratic pollster Chism Strategies, found Cochran beating McDaniel 48 percent to 47 percent with 5 percent undecided. That finding is within the poll's plus or minus 3.3 percentage point margin of error.

The new poll, conducted Friday, contrasts with a previous Chism Strategies poll of the race which showed McDaniel beating Cochran, 46 percent to 44 percent among likely Republican primary voters.

"This Friday night survey shows Cochran rebounds a bit after the pivot on messaging. It’s hard for me to believe this is a trend. The irony is astounding. We see Trent Lott reminding voters they need the federal government in their lives," Chism said. "Dangerous gamble for Cochran. Every 30 second spot energizes McDaniel’s base."

The new poll was conducted only of voters who participated in the June 3rd Republican primary. Chism surveyed 821 households for the poll.